by Diane Craver
Elizabeth jabbed a fork in her salad. “Mallory, if you have this surgery, you should make Toby pay for it. He owes you after all you did for him. I know you refused alimony.”
She swallowed a mouthful of pasta. “I don’t want him to pay for it. We aren’t married. And once I mentioned getting my nose done when his sister told me she hoped Josh didn’t get my nose. When I joked that I could sell a kidney to get money for a nose reduction, Toby said I should find a plastic surgeon who needed a kidney.”
Heather frowned. “That’s terrible.”
“Actually we all laughed. It seemed funny at the time.” She shouldn’t have shared this because it made Toby seem insensitive. He wasn’t. Well, that wasn’t totally true. He hadn’t thought how hurt she’d be when he had his affair.
“Do you two have any plans?” Elizabeth asked. “I told Derek I’d make this a short girls’ night and meet him at Lowe’s. We want to pick out all the light fixtures for the house.”
“If you weren’t my friend, I’d be jealous of you.” Heather brushed bangs off her forehead. “Building a new house and getting married. You do things right.”
Mallory wasn’t envious of Elizabeth, but she worried sometimes about her friend marrying Derek. Something about him didn’t ring true. Sure, he attended church regularly but he had a snotty attitude and seemed insincere to her about his faith. If she had to put a label on Derek Anderson, it’d be hypocrite. For all Elizabeth’s negative comments about Toby, he was never a hypocrite. She hoped Elizabeth wasn’t making a huge mistake in marrying Derek.
“Derek and I are blessed. But we did wait to get married so we’d be financially secure.”
Her cell phone rang and she saw it was Toby.
“I feel left out,” Heather said. “There’s no one calling me.”
“Hi. How’s pizza night?” she asked Toby.
“Our son likes his pizza. Mallory, we need to talk sometime soon.”
“About what?”
“I can’t talk about it on the phone. Maybe Tuesday evening when we’re at Josh’s soccer practice.”
“What’s wrong?” Mallory asked quickly. “Is it your job?”
“No, my job’s fine. We’ll talk soon. I better get back to Josh. And Mallory, I’m sorry for a lot of things. Bye.”
She put her phone on the table, staring at her friends for a moment. “Toby, wants to talk to me about something while Josh’s at soccer.”
Elizabeth gave her a thoughtful look. “I’d make him wait. Don’t stay at practice. Tell him you have to do something with me for the wedding. He probably wants to beg off taking Josh next weekend.”
Heather nodded. “I agree. You’re always available for him.”
Mallory shook her head. “Toby’s pretty reliable when it comes to having Josh every Friday and Saturday. I appreciate your concern, but I know exactly what both of you are thinking and not saying. He’s going to tell me he’s serious about Samantha and they’re getting married. But that’s not it,” she said with conviction.
“What makes you so sure?” Heather asked.
How could she explain it? She just knew something was terribly wrong from how he’d talked to her. “His voice sounded the way it did when he told me he wanted a divorce. Sad and hopeless. So whatever it is, I know one thing. It’s something big.”
Chapter Two
Because of the lightning and rain, the coach canceled soccer practice on Tuesday evening. Mallory couldn’t believe it. She wanted to talk to Toby and find out what was wrong. Why did it have to storm the night they both went to watch Josh practice?
She’d always looked forward to not only watching Josh play but to spending time with Toby. Funny, he seemed more relaxed on soccer night then he ever did when they were married. She guessed Toby could only take her in small doses.
After practice they had family night for Josh, so Toby never brought his girlfriend Samantha. They went to Wendy’s frequently because Josh liked their kids’ meal with chicken nuggets and apple slices. Fortunately, he also loved pizza, so sometimes they went to eat at Jac & Do’s, one of the oldest pizza restaurants in northwestern Ohio. She sighed, remembering how important this place had been to them while Toby was in law school. They couldn’t afford much, but they’d splurged once a week to eat at Jac & Do’s. Sure, it wasn’t a fancy high priced restaurant, but they served the best pizza in Findlay. Their crust was thin but if you asked for a thicker crust, you got it. Her mouth watered at the thought of their cheese garlic pizza.
They could still go out for dinner. She’d suggest it when she called Toby to tell him about the canceled practice. She glanced at the kitchen clock and decided to try him at work first. After eating we can come back here to talk while Josh watches one of his Disney movies.
When she heard Toby’s voice, her heart started beating faster. Why couldn’t God have answered her prayers about staying married to him? Even after he’d told her he wanted a divorce, she had faith it wouldn’t happen. As a Christian, she felt divorce was wrong. But Toby’s affair with his law partner, Lacey, had torn her apart and she finally had agreed to the divorce. “Hi, Toby. I’m glad I caught you. Soccer practice has been called off.”
“I figured they’d cancel it.” He laughed. “I bet Josh’s disappointed. He loves to play in the rain.”
“And the mud. I was thinking we still could have our weekly family night and—”
“I can’t. Samantha called earlier and I told her I’d drive her to the hospital. Her mom was in an accident. Samantha’s car is still in the shop.”
“Is her mom going to be okay?”
“I think so but they want to do more tests and keep her for a couple of days.”
“Tell Samantha her mom’s in my prayers.” She hated Samantha was Toby’s girlfriend, but she hoped her mother wouldn’t have severe injuries. If Toby hadn’t joined the fitness club, he never would’ve met Samantha. Well, their paths might have crossed eventually in the courtroom. She worked at the gym while attending law school. Being in awesome shape, Samantha apparently used the gym’s machines. “You could drop her off and we can meet at a nearby restaurant.”
“I’m sorry, Mallory. When it kept raining, I figured practice would be called off so I made plans to see a client. I’m going to do that while Samantha visits her mom.”
She wasn’t going to wait another night to find out what news Toby had planned on giving her at the soccer fields. “I thought you had something important to tell me tonight.”
“It can wait. In fact, I shouldn’t have mentioned it yet to you. We’ll talk as soon as I have enough information to explain it.”
Great, Sunday might be the earliest she’d get to talk to him about whatever was happening in his life. She picked Josh up on Sunday mornings for church. Toby only went to church on Christmas and Easter with them. “Could you give me a hint what it’s about?”
Josh stood by her and pulled on her arm. “Mommy, I’m hungry. When are we going to eat?”
“I heard what Josh said. I’ll let you feed our growing boy. Tell him hi for me. I have to go.”
After Toby hung up, she glanced at her cozy kitchen, remembering how three years ago they’d remodeled it together. They had replaced the old kitchen carpet with a lovely hardwood floor. The new cabinets were a bleached wood with beige granite counters. Their only disagreement occurred when she insisted on white kitchen appliances and Toby wanted stainless steel ones.
Thirty minutes later, Josh ran to open the door for Heather. She’d called before Mallory had started cooking to see if it was okay to drop in and bring pizza.
While Heather got the plates out of the cupboard, Mallory poured the drinks. Coke for Heather, milk for Josh and water for her. She’d love to have a Coke but the pizza alone had enough calories without adding more.
Heather sat down and opened the pizza box. She placed two slices on a plate, passing it to Josh.
“Come eat with us again, Heather,” Josh said. “I like you sitting in Daddy’s chair.�
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Her poor little boy. It’d been several months since the divorce, but obviously Josh still missed his daddy sitting at the table with them. She prayed quickly and silently, Dear Lord, please help Josh to adjust to our divorce.
Heather smiled at Josh. “I don’t like to eat pizza alone, and you two appreciate good food.”
She nodded. “We should do this again except I’ll buy the pizza. Hey, Toby said Samantha’s mom was admitted to the hospital. She was in a car accident. They’re keeping her while they do more tests.”
“I hadn’t heard about Samantha’s mom.” Heather took a sip of Coke. “I was in surgery for hours.”
They chatted for a few moments about how much Heather liked being part of the surgical team, but it was hard standing for hours at a time.
Josh finished his third piece of pizza. “I’m stuffed. May I be excused?”
“Yes, you may.”
Once Josh was parked in front of the TV, Heather turned to Mallory. “Josh looks so much like Toby except for his hair being a lighter shade of blond.”
“Toby’s hair was that light at that age. It darkened later in high school.”
“Josh’s so cute. He’ll be a ladies’ man someday.”
“That’s scary.” She laughed. “I don’t think I want Josh to grow up.”
“My sister dreads the teenage years, but you both have lots of time.”
“How’s Kari feeling?” Heather’s sister was expecting her second child in June.
“She has the usual bouts of exhaustion that comes with pregnancy, but she’s been healthy.”
Mallory wiped pizza sauce off her lower lip. “I wanted another baby but Toby didn’t.”
“Is everything okay with Toby?” Heather asked. “I know you were worried about him.”
“Since practice was canceled, I asked him on the phone. He said it could wait. His voice didn’t sound hopeless like it did on Friday night. But I know something has changed in his life or is about to.”
“I’m sure you two will get some adult time together and get to talk about it.” Heather paused for a moment. “Guess who I saw today at the hospital?”
She broke off a piece of crust and said, “Let me see. It must be someone I know. You need to narrow it down a bit…female or male?”
“A handsome male and he asked about you.”
“Geez, don’t keep me in suspense. Who was it?”
“Reverend Jeremy Turner. And he’s still single.”
She’d gone out with Jeremy once or twice before he’d entered the seminary. Funny thing, she should’ve been thrilled at Jeremy’s interest in her. From the time she’d been a little girl, she had wanted to grow up to be a teacher and a minister’s wife. But she’d fallen in love with handsome Toby with his sexy piercing gray eyes and his dark blond hair. At one time, he’d smiled at her as if she’d been the only woman in the room for him. “Did you tell him I’m divorced? I doubt he’ll want to date me now.”
Heather nodded. “Don’t get mad but I gave him your phone number. This might be your chance to be a minister’s wife. I don’t think that he’d ask for your number if he thought you being a divorced woman could be a problem.”
She shrugged. “I’ll talk to him if he even calls, but I’m not sure about dating again. What if I fall in love? It doesn’t seem right for me to get married a second time. Even though my first marriage failed because of Toby’s adultery, doesn’t mean I should try again. I never told you or Elizabeth but when I went out with Jeremy, I kept thinking maybe God did have Jeremy in mind to be my husband. I mean I had prayed to be a minister’s wife, but I had already met Toby at college. Jeremy hadn’t started college and I was already in my second year. At the time Jeremy being two years younger seemed like a big deal to me.”
“I’d forgotten he’s younger than us. But it’s not important now with you both being in your thirties.”
“There was another stupid reason which I hadn’t wanted to mention back then. Because I was self-conscious about my big nose, I noticed Jeremy’s. I figured if we actually got married someday, our kids would have big noses like us.” What if God had meant for her to marry Jeremy and she hadn’t listened to Him? But out of her marriage to Toby, she’d been blessed with a wonderful son.
“I think he’s attractive and he has so much charisma. I bet a lot of women in his congregation would love to go out with him.” Heather wiped her lips with a napkin. “Jeremy told me how he called you a week before your wedding.”
She laughed. “I was afraid to tell you and Elizabeth about his phone call. It was a big surprise to hear from him and an even bigger one when he asked me if I was sure that I didn’t want to be a minister’s wife.”
“Well, apparently he never got over you.”
“You didn’t tell Elizabeth about seeing Jeremy, did you?” She took one look at Heather’s guilty face and knew she had. “Great, you did. Now Elizabeth will try to get me to go out with Jeremy.”
“I wish I had guys interested in me.”
“You have and will again. The right one didn’t come along yet.”
Heather sighed. “Thanks for not mentioning my broken engagements. I’m thinking of trying one of those online dating services. What do you think?”
“A teacher at my school did online dating and she ended up marrying a guy she met on the Internet. They’ve been happily married for almost three years.”
“Would you sometime help me pick a photo to post?”
Maybe Heather wouldn’t need to spend money and sign up for online dating. She wondered if Heather could be interested in dating Jeremy herself. Her friend had definitely noticed how attractive Jeremy was today. She wouldn’t mention the possibility now but definitely would steer Heather in Jeremy’s direction. “Sure. I have some cute pictures of you. We can do it tonight. It’ll be fun.”
Heather grinned. “If you ever change your mind about going out, you might try signing up on a dating site too.”
“Hey, did you and Elizabeth dream up this online dating to get me interested in it?” She wouldn’t put it pass Elizabeth to put Heather up to it.
“No, it’s not a ploy to get you signed up. I want to meet someone soon.” Heather sighed. “But Elizabeth has another plan for you. I might as well warn you that she’s going to call you soon about having a dinner party. She’s inviting Jeremy. Why shouldn’t you have a fun evening and reconnect with an old friend?”
“It’ll be nice to see Jeremy, but he might not be looking for a chance to hook up with me. Just because he asked about me doesn’t mean he’s interested.”
Why couldn’t her friends let up on the dating issue? Instead they put wasted effort into arranging a party for the sole purpose of fixing her up with Jeremy. They knew that she didn’t want to remarry.
Heather gave her a broad smile. “I bet your great-grandfather is up in heaven rooting for Jeremy to be your next husband.”
“I’m not sure he’d want me to marry Jeremy now, but since great-grandfather was a minister you could be right. He might think Toby had his chance to be saved during our marriage. One good thing about marrying a minister is prayer and Bible study would be part of your daily life. I think if Toby and I had prayed and read the Bible, we’d still be together. Maybe that wouldn’t have been enough, and he might have cheated on me anyhow. I do wonder if I could’ve forgiven him for his affair with Lacey if we’d still be together.” But according to the Bible, I had the right to get a divorce because Toby committed adultery.
Heather stood and walked to the dishwasher. “You were so broken when you found out about the affair. I think it’s better that you two decided to get divorced.”
“And now Toby is already interested in Samantha. I’m hoping Josh will adjust soon to the divorce. It’s been hard on my little boy.” She paused for a moment, wishing Toby had been faithful and they’d still be married for their son. “But I’m happy that I can do something about my nose.”
“I can’t believe how Elizabeth and I nev
er suspected you were self-conscious about your nose.”
Mallory watched Heather put Josh’s plate and hers in the dishwasher. “I didn’t want to draw attention to my nose. And there wasn’t any point to me talking about it when I didn’t have the money to do anything about it. I told my mom before I went to college how I wish I could have something done to my nose. She told me that I was beautiful just the way I was. Of course, right after that, she said how outward beauty was valued too much and how inner beauty was the most important thing.”
Heather closed the dishwasher. “I still don’t think you need rhinoplasty done but if you go ahead with it, I’ll loan you the money. You’ll need your money to get your master’s in educational administration. Don’t you still want to be a principal?”
She would never borrow from a friend but appreciated Heather’s offer. “That’s sweet of you but I’ve put becoming a principal on the back burner. Josh is little yet and I like having the summers off so I can be home with him.”
“I admire you for teaching at a private Christian school. I know the pay is considerably less than what you’d make at a public school. If you ever need any money, let me know.”
“Thanks, Heather.” She grinned. “I might take you up on your offer if everything we need to do for Elizabeth’s wedding costs too much.”
“When is your appointment with Dr. Whitman?”
“This Friday. Someone canceled their appointment so I could get in sooner. I take it as a sign that I’m doing the right thing. I was afraid I’d have to wait too long for an appointment. Plastic surgery’s popular these days. Liposuction, tummy tuck, chin implants, lip enlargement, breast implants—”